Collapsible picnic table and bench assembly



Sept. 18, 1951 E, HA AN 2,568,622

COLLAPS IBLE PICNIC TABLE AND BENCH ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 4, 1950 INVENTOR FUEL R7 HAGA/V Patented Sept. 18, 1951 COLLNPSLBLE PICNIC D BENCH l ASSEMBLY Boom Ha an. Y unz iowaom Application Auguste}, 1950, Serial No. 1177,37 33 .6 Claims. .(Cl. 155.12.3).

- FIIhiS inv t on lat sto po tab e p ni e uips merit and m re pa ticularly to a combined bench andtable o the type general y dv r p cn cs:

outdoor p rt es and th ike.

Th p m r obj c o this inv ntion i o pro: vi e a bench. and a e ombinatio f r use.

above mention d Which is lightin weight and -of such onstructionas to b ollaps bleato the. ti

ree that it ma e asily earriediand readi stored in a small space.

Another object of my invention is the provision; of- .a portable and collapsi e abl d en h.

combination which is so constructed as to allow seatsintegrally extend n th re rom to e fo d d:

within the peripheral limits of the tabletop.

.A. further object of my invention is th P vision of a collapsible picnic table and. bench assembly constructed of materials such as wood.

pipeand tubing to effiect a desired economy in construction and to provide the lightness of;

weightnecessary for good portability. Ithasibeen found that for small sizes the outside diameter of standard tubing is substantially equal tothe inside diameter of standard pipe of the same nominal dimension. This fact is used to good advantage .in the construction of my invention as will be hereinafter explained.

Other objects and advantages of my invention wil become apparent upon consideration or the following detailed specification and accompany! ingidrawing wherein there .is disclosed a. certain. preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a table and bench assembly constructed according tothe principles of my invention, showing the table: assembled and ready for use;

Figure 2 is a side elevation .01 the table-and bench assembly of Figure v.1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the assembly oIFigure 1 but showing one of the seatsuiolded underneath the top to provide more convenient access to oneside of the table;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the :assemhlv of Figure 1 showing the same collapsed-land packed for-storage; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view one of "the joints between a leg member and-perfume member oithe assembly. of Figure '1.

In the embodiment-of my invention shown in thewarious figures of the drawing the tableaand.

bench "assembly comprises in combination :a

mseats ll, legs l2, and adrame. member 43.

{The tabletop in is preferably for-med ofaseveralflatboards .I'I laid 'sideto side to form ia flat.

ectangu a suriao l under, said boards .1?! near eachend, and secured thereto by screws, not shown, or equivalent means, Ashort; length of standard pipe lii;.=:is

affixedwnear each end of each of said angles; 14. said pipes l5 depending vertically to :form sockets toreceiye legs us behereinafter moresiully described. A wing nut 16 orothersuitabledevice is positioned in said pipe 1 5 to provide means iior securingsaid leg 12 when insertedtherein,

Each ofthe seats H consists of afiat boar-did, WlliChyiS wide enough to provide reasonable com fort fora person seated thereon, and appro a a mately the same length as the boards-i 1 of the topsection In. A :stud I8, formed ofwa short length oiwstandard metal/tubing, projects downwardlyiromtheiboard l8 near each end thereof Flanges. areefbrmedin or secured tothe studs 18' at theirupper ends, as is shown, for the attachmentot the studs to the boards 18.

In theembodiment shown I have provided four. leg members ii -arranged in pairs. Each .of said leg members. 12 consists of a J-shaped length or standard metal tubing. Secured at its upper end. by. the socket I5 is the longervertical section i9:

of seid leg member I2. The shorter vertical sectlon li is positioned outwardly 'of said section ile and. is connected integrally therewith by means of a horizontally disposed section 2.0. Said section 2| is turned inwardly at .22 and a vertical socket 28 of standard pipe issecured atits inner extremit-y tpsslidably engage the stud 18' depending from therhoaizd 18 .A wing nut 24 isiprovided in said socket Mas meansqfor retaining said stud I85 in engagement therewith.

"Engag-in the legs "12 at their lower end is the frame member I 3 which ha as its principal element an elongated section of standard tubing 25, :said section 25 :being of suflicient .lengthto span the distance. between the pairs lof -leg sec: tions .11. Ashort section of tubing 21. is secured normally tosection 25 at each end thereof, and

ashort length of standard pipe 28. is secured in; vertically :disposedzfashion to each end of each of said-sections 2,1. As. assembled, the-four pipe. sections 2.8 are substantially parallel and are disposed-normally to the plane formed by the.

tubing sections ZSaa-nd 2] An annularxcollar .26

@ is positioned. on. the lower portion of-zthe longer vertical: section 19, of, the leg member I12 and:

is secured thereto as means for supporting the; framemember 43.

I assemble my uni-t, section 1.9 or each see member all is inserted. into a pipe section 18411;

f n l o VM n ibes Suitable rigidmember is positioned trans versely v loosened to permit top H) to be lifted from they 7 Wing nuts 24 are then loosened to permit the removal. ofthe jseatsll l..

The top and seats are then rested edgewise'awi The legs l2 ar e then folded inwardly against said top andsats as is shown in Figure 4. Theunitiisthenflat'.

supporting sections IS.

on sections 2! of the frame I3.

andrcompact for easy moving and storage,

fact that whenthe assembly is collapsed the studs" [8" of the seats l-l'-maybe'inserted into the pipe-section of the top 10, This wil-lassure that'the seats I l are positively positioned andsecured to guard againstdamage in transit; *Itshould be apparent upon full consideration of the description'hereinbefore' set forth-that the-advantages of my invention are manifold. Generallya portable table assemblyof this type consists of'benches, top, and some form of col-'- piece by piece when moved. Furthermore, the

storage space required is considerable since the benches normally are not collapsible. These objectionable qualities have been to a great ex-:

7 tent eliminated in myinvention; -Metal tubing;

of which a large portion of my table is constructed," isnoted forits high strength-weightratio. Assembly or disassembly requires .but a.- few minutes time and the table assembly! ma be carried as a unit in either condition? A further advantage of thetable assembly constructed accordingto the principles of: my invention-is thatfieither. or both .seats may be bolted within :thelperipheral limits 10f the; top; thu facilitating :anypperationon orabout thetable which maybe necessaryor desirable before": the seats are to be utilized; y 1 .11

iview of-the preceding disclosure Iclaim': 'l.. A collapsibl'e'table assembly comprising in combination a pair of seats, a top consisting ofi flat boards laidside to side to'f'orm 'asubstantially rectangular flat surface, said -board's being held in fiat relation by means of 'members dis-; posed transversely thereunder and secured firmly thereto near each end thereoffsaid membershaving vertically disposed pipe sections secured thereto-and dependingv downwardly therefrom; means on each of said pipe sections to detachably retain an end portion of a tube length, a plurality of legs each comprisin'g'a bent tubular memberhaving a horizontally disposed sect-ionforming a base, vertically disposed sections extending upwardly from each end of said horizontalsections to form supporting elements for said topand seats, one of said vertical sectionsof each leg having an annular ring'secured there--' to .near' its lower end, and theother vertical. section of each leg'having a horizontallydis posed section extending inwardly from its-upper end, said inwardly extending section having a vertically 'disposed 'socket secured to its iniier end; 'saidsocket having-means positioned thereon to detachably secure a tube inserted therein, a bracing assembly comprising a, horizontally disposed longitudinal member having a, horizontally disposed transverse member secured at each end thereof, each end of each of said transverse members having a sleeve secured in a vertically disposed position to slidably receive the vertical table-supporting section of the aforementioned legs; and each of said seats comprising a wide fiat board'having" a downwardly depending stud secured to the under side thereof near each end, ""said stud being adapted to fit slidably into the sockets. secured. to the aforementioned legs.

* 23A collapsible table assembly comprising in combination a substantially rectangular fiat top 'liavi'ng "vertically disposed and downwardly del. pending tubular sections secured thereunder near each end thereof; a plurality of supporting legs Particular attention should be paid "to the each having a horizontal section with a vertically disposedsupporting section extending upwardly fromeach end thereof, one of said vertical secsec'tion extending inwardly from its upper extremity, and inwardly disposed section havinga vertically disposed tubular section positionedthereon, and said legs slidably engaging said first mentioned tubular sections, a rigid bracing as-r sembly of tubular construction slidably fitted ove'r said'legs to retain the same in horizontally spaced relation, said bracing assembly being supported by the aforementioned projections in said legs, and a pair of seats each having an elongated flat surface 'with vertically disposed and downwardly depending tubularsections secured ther'eunder to slidably engage said second mentioned tubular sections. I 1

3. A collapsible table and bench assembly com-J prising in combination a tape top, a pair of trans-:-

v'e'rsely spaced sockets secured to and depending downwardly from said table top at each longi-':

tudinal end thereof, an elongated seat member for each side of the table having 'a pair of s'tuds secured to and depending downwardly therefrom inspac'ed'relation equal to'th'e longitudinal spacing of said sockets, spaced pairs of J-shaped:

tubularframe members each having the 'upper end portion ofits longer vertical reach positioned in one of said sockets, a-vertically disposed socket: at the upper end'ofeachof the shorter vertical reaches of said J-shaped members to receive-onei the axeslof said longer reaches. 1

4. An assembly according to claim 1 further? of tubing bent'to provide transversely spacedand;

upwardly extending reaches 'to support. the table tOpxan'da bench'member respectively, a-bracing'" assembly'rotatably receiving the lower endporgj tions" of'each of said reaches supporting said table top and means swivably interconnecting them)- per'a ends 1 of? said reachesand said table top and:

5 l bench members whereby said leg members may be rotated inwardly about the vertical axes of the reaches thereof which support the table top.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 further characterized in that said table top and said bench members are removable vertically from said leg members and in that the vertical reaches of said leg members which support said table top are sufficiently spaced to accommodate the removed table top and bench members in vertical edgewise position while supported on said bracing assembly.

ROBERT E. HAGAN.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,454,565 Sanford May 8, 1923 2,353,892 Higgins July 118, 1944 2,524,198 La Rue Oct. 3, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 473,430 Great Britain Oct. 13, 1937 

